Australia news LIVE: PM in Queensland as cyclone looms; National accounts reveal economy has emerged from per capita recession

The Australian economy gathered some momentum through the end of 2024 with a near-two-year-long GDP-per-capita recession finally over.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released this morning showed the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent in the December quarter, lifting annual growth to 1.3 per cent. It had slumped to just 0.8 per cent at the end of the September quarter.

GDP per capita, which takes into account the size of the population, grew by 0.1 per cent. That ends seven consecutive falls in this key indicator, the worst run since the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s.

The bureau’s head of national accounts, Katherine Keenan, said there had been growth across most of the economy.

“Modest growth was seen broadly across the economy this quarter. Both public and private spending contributed to the growth, supported by a rise in exports of goods and services,” she said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the figures showed a solid rebound in growth.

“Consumption was a major contributor to the overall result this quarter and the key reason why private final demand picked up,” he said.

“Consumption had stalled in the middle of last year due to higher interest rates, global economic uncertainty and cost-of-living pressures, and now it’s beginning to bounce back.”